


In the Darkest Night, I

by selfinduced



Series: we don't have forever [3]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: M/M, jalec - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-12-12
Packaged: 2019-03-21 04:10:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13732857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/selfinduced/pseuds/selfinduced
Summary: "With respect, your majesty," Maia draws out the honorific, not lowering her eyes from the seelie queen's. "We have suggestions that we hope you'll find reasonable." She turns to address the shadowhunter delegation to her right at the council table, her voice carrying clear and unwavering. "Valentine may be gone, but his atrocities have left behind many survivors. We have deeply traumatized individuals who need rehabilitation and supportive care. We have displaced families, who have lost their loved ones, their homes, their sources of income. We demand that the shadowhunters provide reparations. Not only because it was one of their own that was responsible, but because we believe their duty to protect and preserve peace cannot be carried out through violence alone."





	1. The Gathering

"With respect, your majesty," Maia draws out the honorific, not lowering her eyes from the seelie queen's. "We have suggestions that we hope you'll find reasonable." She turns to address the shadowhunter delegation to her right at the council table, her voice carrying clear and unwavering.

Alec notes that it's not just her pack looking up to her with pride but the grateful eyes of many downworlders.

"Valentine may be gone, but his atrocities have left behind many survivors. We have deeply traumatized individuals who need rehabilitation and supportive care. We have displaced families, who have lost their loved ones, their homes, their sources of income. We demand that the shadowhunters provide reparations. Not only because it was one of their own that was responsible, but because we believe their duty to protect and preserve peace cannot be carried out through violence alone."

A murmur rises in the hush that had preceded her words.

The queen seems to smile without expression as she turns to Alec. "What say you, shadowhunters?"

"I will present your needs to the Clave." Alec responds. The Clave will hesitate, of course, but Valentine's own funds alone would provide substantial aid to the camps of survivors that have started to form after the almost-war. Alec can certainly try. He looks over at Jace to see his eyes are also trained on Maia with the same look of respect and knows what his answer has to be. “And I will recommend that they follow your suggestions for how to meet them.”

The murmur of before has become many representatives clamoring to speak. The past month has seen the local factions of the shadow world cooperate in way they never had before, probably because of the closeness between Clary, Simon, Luke, and Isabelle’s connections.

Alec is grateful for Isabelle’s continued expertise.  
  
He considers how to approach the Clave—all of this enthusiasm won't do any good if the Clave scoffs off this initiative. Jace and Izzy will support him of course, would probably charge ahead with or without Alec's agreement as they always have, confiscating Circle properties for wealth redistribution and getting themselves reprimanded in the process.

No, the most promising way forward is likely to be Jace's newfound connection to Inquisitor Herondale. What does it say that he refuses to acknowledge the word “family,” let alone her name, even in his own thoughts? 

“Alexander,” Magnus murmurs, and Alec blinks, coming back to the present to notice eyes on him.

He nods at them, "As a representative of the Clave, I can say that we are committed to aiding the recovery and restoration process as well as we can."

Catarina Loss nods at him and continues to address the group, "I would farther remind us all that many of the downworlders affected are children who are now orphaned. We warlocks are spread thin. Not all warlocks are as well situated to protect themselves, let alone children, who they have no training in raising, not to mention werewolves and vampires left without family members that provide support--even mundanes that depend on them."

"You were quiet even for you," Magnus says quietly, “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I was just thinking of how to talk to the Clave, Jace—” Alec’s eyes widen, feeling a sharp distress from him that quickly becomes muted like Jace is trying to hide it, but it’s too late. Alec noticed him missing from the table a while ago and had tried not to dwell on it. Clary and Simon, and Maia were also absent. The meeting has been officially over for a while but Alec had intended to stay behind and participate in the downworlder discussions. “I’m sorry, I have to,” he turns to follow the tugging under his ribs that always tells him which way Jace is without finishing his explanation.


	2. The Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The tree is sickeningly alive, holding Jace aloft. Alec had known holding the meeting in the seelie court was guaranteed to involve disaster, but this--

"What does she mean," Alec asks up at Jace dangerously, "by  _‘When Raziel brought you back?’_ "

The tree is sickeningly alive, holding Jace aloft. Alec had known holding the meeting in the seelie court was guaranteed to involve disaster, but this--

"Oh, did he forget to inform you?" the queen looks between them with eyes that know damn well that Alec hadn't known.

“How did you even know to come look for me, I’m not hurt!” Jace says testily, “You were busy flirting with your boyfriend when I left, you know what, maybe you can ask _him_ why she’s suddenly calling all the shots--”

“We were talking about the restoration _logistics_ ,” Alec begins, “Stop trying to derail the issue!" his face turns white as the queen’s laughter peals out from behind them.

“Oh, I have no doubt your beautiful parabatai here could convince the warlock of anything he wanted, despite their—” she pauses emphatically, “break-up,” voice curling around the 21st century term with amusement. The rest of her words are lost to Alec.

“Breakup?” Jace turns to Alec, as if that’s the thing to focus on while he’s in a choke-hold twenty-feet in the air, “I knew you were having trouble but you left together from the party that night.”

“We tried,” Alec says before he can stop himself from getting dragged into Jace's irrational sense of priorities, but holds up a hand to cut him off, turning back to the queen.

But it’s Jace who speaks first, “So, what are your terms? You know you can’t hurt me.”

"But of course, shadowhunter. You have been marked by the Raziel himself. My subject must be appeased, however--the tree has the right to its meal if you step close enough to be caught. A small favor, if you will."

"Let him go, we'll do what you ask," Alec's ability to be a detached leader snapped the moment Jace started to look drowsy in the kill tree’s ghastly grip. Fighting, bleeding, broken, these Alec is used to, as long as Jace is moving, giving Alec time to get to him.

"Absolutely not. First you tell me what the favor is." Jace seemed to be shaking himself to wake up.

"Just a bit of blood. A pinprick." She waved a hand at an attendant that appeared with a small vial.

"Jace, by the Angel if you resist, I," Alec's throat goes tight and he snatches the vial and hands it to one of the tree’s extending branches, ending in twigs that grasp like fingers.

Jace won't look at him, and yes, they'll have strong words about this later, but right now all Alec can do is run towards his parabatai, who jumps down from the kill tree as soon as it lets go. Jace takes one look at his face and sees that Alec is reaching for him and barrels straight into his arms, giving Alec no choice but to hold him, bury his face in Jace's hair and breathe him in.

Alec squeezes him tight. “I love you," he says quietly. Desperately. Repeats it again for good measure and it has the desired effect--Jace melts into him, pressing in with his whole body, looking at Alec’s mouth with the weight of a physical touch. Like a kiss without ever touching his mouth. And that's all it takes, just looking at each other, for the rest of the world to no longer exist. It has to stop, Alec knows. But since he started saying it after the mission catching Whitelaw last week, he can't stop, and the way Jace looks at him, asking for it without words, just moving into him--Alec has never been able to deny him anything. How can he resist making Jace react like this now that he knows he can?

"If you two are done doing your parabatai thing, I need a little help, here?" Maia calls over, trying to keep a bleeding Simon upright, refusing to drink from her to heal.

“I’m going to portal us back now, if no one minds,” Clary clenches her jaw angrily. “It’s been _swell_ your highness.”

For once, Alec doesn’t protest her disrespect of the seelie queen. He nods at her and Izzy, who comes running up behind Clary, nodding for her to do it. Clary waves them through the portal out into Central Park.

 

It’s a cloudy night.

“Here, you might as well feed from me, you’ve done it before,” Jace holds out an arm, lifting away from Alec.

Simon looks fearfully at Alec, as if for permission, and Jace gives him a look, but so does Alec. _You’ve done it before_ , Alec connects the words to when Clary’s annoying friend suddenly started being able to walk around in the sun, making him the object of the seelie queen's fascination, along with Jace and Clary themselves. Simon who had apparently drunk _Jace's angel blood._

 

"We have to go back." Alec says, stopping in his tracks, alarms screaming through his body.

 

“Shit, you’re right,” it’s Simon who connects it next—“She wanted your blood dude. She must know. I didn’t tell her anything, I swear, I didn’t tell anyone anything.”

“I believe you.” Jace stops him, holding up a hand. "And yes, we have to get it back from her,” he turns to Alec, “But we also need to know what she thinks she can do with it or I can just expect attacks where people keep trying to bleed me."

“Or me—why didn’t she come after me, I’d be an easier target,” Clary says, not seeming to need to pause to process how Simon became a daylighter and jumping right to 'What do we do about it?'

“She actually came after _me._ ” Maia interrupts, “She took me. And then after the party, Simon—you did something, I knew it!” she turns to scold him, hands careful to hold him up at the same time. “So let me see if I understand what you all aren’t saying—Simon drank from Jace, and Jace and Clary have angel blood, which is probably what made Simon a daylighter, and now the seelie queen tricked Jace into giving her a vial of his blood, and we don’t know what she knows about it or what she wants to do with it?”

Alec rubs his temples. “We need to find out what she knows and wants.”

"Meliorn will speak to me," Isabelle says, lifting her chin.

"Yeah, but I'll just come with you if you don't mind," Clary steps closer to her. Alec notes the hand she puts on Izzy's back with interest.

"I'll... distract the queen, as I seem to have her attention already," Simon adds.

"And I’ll see if the werewolves or downworlders know anything," Maia turns to him, “While keeping an eye on you.”

"You don’t have to do this," Jace looks at Maia with the same _something_ from back at the council meeting. Alec narrows his eyes.

She shakes her head, "Of course not, I'm gonna do it anyway."

"So we're decided.” Alec cuts in, “The seelie glade will be closed to us for several months until the next meeting, at least for a group of us together, so Jace and I will investigate a way to get back in undetected. In the meantime, we lay low, and do not speak of this. We don't need another situation on our hands."


	3. The Boathouse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “There’s an entrance to the seelie realm through the Central Park Boathouse?” Alec wrinkles his forehead against an impending headache.

He’s been staring unseeingly at the details of downworlder demands from the council meeting the night before, and replaying last night in his head.

Jace moving away from him, not meeting his eyes, heading to his room, and when Alec followed him to his door, that sharp _something_ in his voice as he said, "You didn’t think it was important to tell me.” Like a statement. Like Alec didn’t know that what he meant was and  _Make me not feel like the worst person for looking at you and wanting all the time?_

Except Alec did know.

And the day before, when they’d prepared in his office before heading to the seelie realm for the meeting, and Jace had adjusted his blazer, hands trailing down his chest, standing close, mouth parted, looking at Alec's, and for a second Alec thought he might kiss him, and all Alec had wanted to do _was_ tell him—so he’d taken Jace’s hand and brought it up instead and kissed the back of it, eyes meeting Jace’s as his lips touched Jace’s skin.

Which in retrospect probably made it all worse, so what he said was, "I didn’t want to gives us false hope."

Jace had closed his eyes and nodded once, and shut the door in his face.

-

“Come in,” Alec doesn’t look up from his tablet.

“Hey, so I called Jace first but he seemed upset and told me to talk to you instead of saying he’d pass it on and I didn’t want to call Clary because I’m still not really—”

Alec holds up a hand to forestall his rambling, “What have you found?”

“So there are these hot springs right? And you know seelies, they really like the—well, anyway, so there’s ones by the boathouse but on the other side? I think? Like, New York doesn’t really have hot springs, at least, not the normal one as far as I know, because geographically—so maybe not really the boathouse because who knows where it is on the other side, but maybe you guys already know about it?”

“There’s an entrance to the seelie realm through the Central Park Boathouse?” Alec wrinkles his forehead against an impending headache trying to decipher the mundie babbling.

“Yeah! So you didn’t know! Score one for the mundane! I mean vampire. I mean Daylighter.”

“And what’s significant about the hot springs you were able to see in the part of the seelie realm that you can access via this Boathouse entrance?”

“Well, so, I’m not sure. But there’s a party. I think. I mean there’s always a party, but this is a special one. A big one. And it’s supposed to be one of those ones where you don’t know what dimension you’re in when you’re there, totally exclusive, anonymous, whatever, and code for somewhere connected to the seelie realm, right? But that means magical wards and protections and secret invites, you know. I mean, I know you’re not the partying type--”

But Alec has started to ignore him, “Yes, that’s the perfect cover, we can go in anonymously, and in as big a group as possible, I can put together a team--”

“You sure Jace is gonna want that? I don’t think he’d want even all of us to go, and we’re his _friends_.”

Alec doesn’t bother to protest that Simon is _Clary’s_ friend, and not theirs.

"I mean I guess you’re more than his friend. Not that you can—is that why you and Magnus? I mean, I get it. You'd rather have a maybe with Jace over anything more with anyone else--” Simon continues his verbal barrage, "Which, believe me dude, been there. Although in your case I guess he actually feels the same way. But the whole parabatai thing is taboo for some reason and no one knows--"

Alec opens and closes his mouth. "Have you been illegally accessing our archives?"

"Oh no, just drinking with Magnus, you know how he--oh. Oh man. I am so. Sorry."

“We need more intel on this party.” Alec manages to say.

“Ok cool, I’m really sorry about the—”

"That will be all," Alec says sharply. “Thank you for your help, Simon.”


	4. The Downworld

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In honor of "If I lost you, I'd be lost too." -- I woke up to that clip and reserved time to write today.

He finds Jace in the mess hall, popping an entire eggroll into his mouth and pouring himself soup at the same time. Alec has to stop the smile that keeps taking over his face, going over to stand next to him at the buffet to serve himself some noodles.

“Alec,” Jace grins at him, chewing and swallowing at an alarming rate.

Alec wipes the sauce off the corner of his mouth, hurrying to go sit when he realizes what he’s done and the way Jace is looking at him.

The thing is, Jace's eyes hide nothing.

Now Alec notices the things they avoided having to hide from their bond by looking away. And something inside him wants to grab at Jace, insist he let Alec _feel_ it. The heat that’s probably echoing his own because he can see Jace's pupils widen, dark against the bright blue and that corner of encroaching brown in his left. The way his cheeks color--and Alec wants to tell him it's pretty--the words are out of his mouth before he can think. The only thing that saves him is that it comes out as a mocking "You're _blushing_."

Jace rolls his eyes as expected, but the blush spreads and he seems to be biting back a smile and failing and knocks over a salt shaker before catching it two feet from the ground with his usual reflexes. "Did you come here to eat or just harass me?" he snipes back at Alec.

Alec tells him about the Boathouse entry to the seelie realm. Such doorways change and shift with no discernible pattern, or at least, a pattern only known by the fae, and they should act quickly before it closes up after serving whatever purpose--most likely this black party--the seelie gatherings devoted to hedonism and debauchery where anything goes. 

"I've got some contacts we can hit up. See what they know and how we can get in--there's usually a magical code or passphrase."

"How can I forget," Alec quirks his mouth, "The last time you went to one I had to give you half my clothes because you were running naked down Madison with antlers on your  head."

Alec had had to give him his pants, actually, which Jace had to roll up at the hems a ridiculous amount because he was too short for them, which left Alec to make the rest of their way home in his boxers and shirt, both of them too intoxicated to figure out which runes could help. They'd mutually decided to add it to the list of things they never spoke about directly. Except for the part where Alec had lain awake countless nights reliving the feeling of seeing Jace in his clothes, dwarfed by the size of Alec's pants and jacket, the way he cuddled into Alec's side on the subway, nuzzling his nose into Alec's neck and murmuring how lovely Alec was and how he knew Alec would always come through for him and he would for Alec, because they were  _soulmates_. It had been on the tip of his tongue to correct Jace:  _Parabatai._ Soulmates is a mundane thing, it couldn't possibly describe their bond. But he'd hummed assent, allowing himself to pull Jace a little bit closer still, dropping a kiss on the top of his head.

Jace is talking around bites of eggroll dipped in soup, "I'm sure no one suffered from the view," then leaning forward, "I'm not just talking about me. You weren't wearing pants, remember?" he grins as Alec's mouth works open and closed and continues. "So if you're here I guess you're coming with me today."

And Alec knows, knows he shouldn't, but as they get up from eating, he reaches out to fix the nonexistent collar on Jace's jacket, skin touching Jace's until flickers of the want Jace is hiding spark through and now Jace's ears are red again, mouth soft instead of smug.

  
-

 

"A little potion," The hedge witch says, opening his jacket to reveal various magical merchandise hanging on the inside. “For you and your boyfriend here. Helps keep you fresh, you know."

"I think I keep him pretty satisfied,” Jace smirks, "Right babe?"

Alec looks indulgently at him, "Far from it, but it's part of his charm," ignoring the thrill running through him at the ridiculous pet name. He waves his bow at the hedge witch, "Now, about the report we received about you summoning demons without warlock supervision and in the presence of mundanes."

"Shadowhunters!" the hedge witch wails, "Please, it was one time when I was a youngling, 32, still a babe at the teat!"

"Alright, listen, I need a glamor for a black party in the seelie realm," Jace interrupts.

"Oh, well if you'd just said that to start with," the hedge witch relaxes, pulling pieces of dried stems and seeds from his pants that Alec looks at dubiously.

 

-

 

"C'mon, this way," Jace grabs the dried plant parts and heads down to the water near the Boathouse, grinding it into dust and blowing it out in front of him from his palm.

"Where are we going _…babe?"_ Alec only has to take two longer strides to catch up to him.

"Alec, no one will look twice at a downworlder couple trying to get into the party of the decade. But they'd know immediately something's up if two grim looking shadowhunters barge in demanding information, and no one will tell us anything because they'll warn each other. Izzy and Clary have an excuse to attend, but I'd feel better if they had downworld glamors too since seelies would sense angelic power from our runes." He gives Alec the look of _Just play along, Alec_ and Alec gives him the usual one back of _You should've told me why._

A faerie bridge made of vines appears, leading them across the river to a pool surrounded by downworlders and faerie lights. Jace's eyes glow briefly as he activates both their glamor runes without using a stele so by the time they reach the clearing, their runes disappear, making them possible downworlders of any form. The glade is in perpetual dusk--no direct sunlight for vampires, enough light for everyone else to see. Downworlders seem to be all over the area, including the hot springs Simon talked about.

"Ok, so we're doing what?" Alec says.

"Using mudwort from the bottom of the spring to cover ourselves."

Alec groans, "I should've seen this coming."

"What? It'll cover our auras and our scent in such a strong smell they'll assume we're kelpies of some sort, it's perfect."

"Come along then, _darling_ ," Alec says dangerously, shrugging off his jacket and reaching for Jace's, fingers trailing up along his sides as Jace makes a low, choked sound, mouth opening as he raises his arms obediently so Alec can pull his shirt over his head. Alec doesn't bother to hide his smugness as he reaches for the zipper on Jace's pants, unbuttoning while holding his eyes, so Jace doesn't look down to see how his hands shake. His move is backfiring on him, mouth dry as he pushes the pants off Jace's hips, thumbs dragging down each side to the outside of his thighs and Jace's eyes flutter half closed. Alec thinks he might have moaned a little, maybe both of them did, though he can't be sure. He backs away and undresses within seconds before Jace can recover enough to retaliate and goes to stand at the water.

Jace crowds up behind him, bare chest millimeters from Alec's bare back, the heat of him impossible to resist, move away from. His words are low and rough, spoken directly against Alec's ear, breath fluttering his hair as if to say, _I can play this game too._ "After you, my heart," except the endearment isn't mocking enough to sound like a joke. 

It doesn't need to. Alec curses as he's pushed out into the spring face-first. He _really_ should've seen _this_ coming.

**Author's Note:**

> for Sus, who reminded me this exists and inspired me to post it in pieces instead of trying to write it all out at once.


End file.
